For This Night
by gizzymoon
Summary: After the events of season two, Elena finds herself not wanting to be alone, but there's only one other person in the house she can go to.


This was just plain wrong in so many ways I couldn't even keep track of them all. I knew it. The guilt alone was driving me to the point of insanity. It had started out innocently enough. At least I could hold on to that.

Damon was sick. I was staying with him because he needed me. I kept telling myself that. I repeated it over and over in my head like it was a mantra. It's only because he's dying. I'm only here because he's dying.

That excuse only held long enough for Katherine to drop by with the cure and a few parting words that I still haven't been able to get out my head.

"_It's okay to love them both. I did_."

But it wasn't okay. It wasn't anything close to okay.

The cure hadn't been the instant fix we were hoping it would be. No, the symptoms of the wolf bite were still lingering, leaving him feeling less than one hundred percent. He was pushing himself, fighting against the ill effects that still kept hold of him, but I could see the signs of strain around the edges. His eyes didn't sparkle as brightly as they normally did. He didn't move as fast or as gracefully as was customary. His jibes and witty banter weren't up to his normal standards. And he looked tired. Seeing him like that was strange in a way I wasn't prepared for.

I liked Damon, in spite of everything, I really liked him. There was something kindred between us. We were alike in so many ways. I understood him when no one could. I could see the reason behind his madness most of the time. I got him. And in return, he got me. We'd both been through so much in our lives, suffered so much.

There were times that I was so angry with him I could stake him myself. But when I said I forgave him, I meant it. I knew why he did what he did. He couldn't lose me. He'd said it himself. And there was nothing he wouldn't do, no lengths he wouldn't go to to keep that from happening.

Everyone was always so ready to condemn him for the things he did, even me. But really when it came right down to it, we should be thanking him. Damon was the one that made the hard choices. He was the one that did the things none of us wanted to think about. He was stronger than all of us put together and for that we chastised him and looked down on him in disapproval.

I knew Stefan loved me. I had absolutely no doubt of that, but I couldn't help but wonder, had it come right down to it, would he have let me die in the sacrifice? Would he have been willing to live with the guilt and agony of knowing I would never forgive him just so I had a chance to keep going?

Damon had done that. He had accepted the fact that he would lose me with his actions, but he had done it anyway, to save me. I couldn't just pretend that hadn't happened. I couldn't act like that didn't mean anything to me. Because it did.

No, I didn't want to be a vampire, but considering the alternative, Damon had done what he did because he thought there was no other way to keep me alive.

Once again, he'd made the hard decision, gone where none of us were willing to go because he felt it had to be done. He had made a promise to keep me alive and had been willing to do that by whatever means necessary. I couldn't possibly blame him for that. How could I not forgive him?

But all that was over and done with. My father had sacrificed himself. It didn't escape my attention how much alike John Gilbert and Damon Salvatore were either. Once again it was all about doing what needed to be done regardless of how unpleasant or distasteful it might be.

The bed shifted as Damon rolled to his side and I stilled immediately, holding my breath to try to stay quiet. It was an absurd thing to do. I couldn't keep my presence in his bed a secret. I had slipped in after he was asleep. I still had no idea why I was there. I just hadn't wanted to be alone. I was so tired of being alone. I'd lost just about everyone that I'd ever loved.

I knew that wasn't true, but somehow laying there down the hall, in my own room, in the dark, it didn't really matter how many people I still had around me. All I could think about were the ones I'd lost, my parents, Jenna, even John and Isabel, and now Stefan was gone, too.

Damon's eyes blinked open groggily and then immediately widened at seeing me lying beside him. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a gruff, sleep-laden voice.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. I hadn't wanted him to find me here. I had every intention of hauling my ass back to my room before I was ever discovered. Now that plan wasn't an option and I wasn't sure what to say to him. "I just didn't want to be alone," I finally managed.

He shifted, bringing his body closer to mine and I was fully prepared for him to make a move. I knew who I was dealing with. I had no illusions otherwise. By slipping into his bed, I'd practically invited him to take a shot. I just hadn't had any other option at the time.

We were alone in the house. There was nowhere else to go to not be alone.

But even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew it was just another tired excuse. If the entire house was full of all my closest friends and what little family I had left, this is still the bed I would have sneaked into. I'd sought him out because I knew he would understand. He would let me be not okay for a minute. I didn't have to pretend to be fine with him. I knew I could feel exactly how I felt with him and he wouldn't look at me with pity or think me weak. Damon would get it.

He settled with his body running along the length of mine and his arm came around me in a gesture that was so tender and gentle I felt tears stinging my eyes suddenly. I hadn't expected that. I wasn't ready for him to act like that towards me. It was okay to leer and make suggestive remarks, but this was none of those things. This was a move full of love and it almost took my breath away.

He pulled me into him and rested his chin on the top of my head after laying a kiss to my forehead.

"You don't have to be sorry," he whispered into the darkness. "I'm here for you whenever you need me. You'll never have to feel alone as long as I'm around."

I nodded in response because words escaped me and nestled further into his strong chest.

I didn't know when or why, but something along the way had changed between us. Somehow, for reasons I couldn't explain in a million years, I felt safe with him, safer than I felt with anyone else in the world, including Stefan.

"Are you okay?" he asked, still so quietly it was little more than a whisper.

"I will be," I told him, truthfully.

"Is there anything I can do to speed the process along?"

I snuggled into him and closed my eyes tightly. "Just hold me."

"For as long as you'll let me," he replied.

His tone was so sincere, so full of love, it twisted something inside me and the tears were back stinging my eyes once more. He had such a beautiful soul. I hadn't known him when he was alive, but I was guessing he was right, I would have liked him. No, I would have loved him. And I hadn't lied to him, I did like him just the way he was. Everybody that knew him would have laughed in my face if I said it to them, but Damon Salvatore was a GOOD man. He was a decent man with a good heart and beautiful soul.

I was so sad that no one else could see him like I did.

Apparently he had assumed I was thinking about Stefan when a quiet sniffle escaped me, because he kissed the top of my head and whispered, "I'm going to find him. I'll bring him back to you."

I almost corrected him. He deserved to know that I wasn't thinking about anyone but him. But I wasn't sure where that statement would lead us and I wasn't willing to take the chance. I was too vulnerable, too raw. I wouldn't have been able to fight both Damon and myself. So I kept it to myself and let him assume. "I know," I answered. "I just miss him."

It wasn't a lie. I did miss Stefan.

His voice was tight and controlled when he answered. "So do I."

I had hurt him by letting him think Stefan was the one I was thinking about while he held me. Of course it hurt him. He told me he loved me. He had proven it was true over and over. How could it not hurt to believe I was thinking about his brother while I laid in his arms. It was cruel. And I couldn't be cruel to him. I could never be cruel to him.

"I wasn't actually thinking about Stefan just then. Honestly, I was thinking about you," I said quickly like I was pulling a bandage off.

He leaned back and looked into my face, his blue eyes piercing as they studied me. "What about me?"

Okay, he didn't have to know the whole truth. "I'm just really glad you're here. I'm glad I'm not alone."

He shrugged like everything he'd done for me was no big deal. "I'm glad I could help. I'd do anything for you, you know that."

Something inside me did a flip as his eyes continued to bore into mine and I felt my hands begin to tremble. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all."

"Why?" he asked as a furrow formed in his brow and his eyes narrowed.

I pulled away from him and started to get up. "I just shouldn't be here. Stefan wouldn't be okay with me being here like this."

He reached out and grabbed my wrist to stop me from leaving. "Why not? I know he doesn't trust me. But why wouldn't he trust you?" His eyes narrowed further still. "Or maybe it's you who isn't okay with being here?" He sat back and let me go suddenly as if my skin had burned him. The sheet was pooled around his waist and I tried not to notice how the moonlight that filled the room seemed to reflect off his smooth, pale, muscular chest. "Please don't tell me that you don't trust me after everything we've been through."

I shook my head immediately. "No, it isn't that. Of course, I trust you. I trust you with my life."

He chuckled. "Just not your virtue. Do you really think so little of me that you believe I would try to take advantage of you right now?"

I was still shaking my head, trying to convince him that I didn't think little of him at all. "You know I don't believe you'd do anything like that. It isn't about that at all."

"So what is it? What makes this so wrong? I'm just a friend helping you through a bad time. How could there be anything wrong with that?" he demanded.

"Look," I said taking a deep breath. "I know how you feel about me. I just didn't want you to get the wrong impression because I came in here. I don't want to lead you on."

He smiled bitterly. "Yeah, about that. It's really only leading me on when you don't feel the same things I'm feeling."

"See, this is exactly what I was afraid of," I exclaimed getting to my feet hurriedly.

I almost made it to the door before he was just suddenly there right in front of me. "Are we really going to pretend this isn't happening? Are we just supposed to go about our lives and ignore this?"

"What this, Damon? There is no this."

He cocked his head to the side and stared at me in wide-eyed wonder for a moment. "So," he breathed as he took a step closer to me. "It doesn't affect you at all when I'm this close to you?" His chest was brushing mine as I drew in every breath. I was not about to admit that those breaths were coming a bit quicker all of a sudden.

"No, it doesn't." I answered defiantly.

He inclined his head. "Okay, then I assume you would feel absolutely nothing if I did this?" He moved closer not stopping until his body was flush with mine and he looked down at me with such hunger and lust in his eyes I nearly stumbled with the weight of it.

I took a deep breath, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about it. His eyes shot to my chest for an instant so I knew he noticed anyway. "What happened to not trying to take advantage of me?" I asked.

"I'm not taking anything. I'm merely suggesting we discuss the elephant in the room, so to speak," he replied as his breath brushed across my cheek.

"There is no elephant in the room. I love Stefan. I'm with Stefan and nothing is going to happen between us." I reiterated for what had to be the hundredth time to him.

He stepped back and waved his hand in the air. "I know all that. That isn't what I'm talking about."

"Then what are you talking about, Damon? It's late and I'm tired. I just want to go to bed."

"Sleeping can wait. This discussion has waited long enough. I think it's time we had it out."

I sighed. I still wasn't sure what he was talking about. But I knew him well enough to know I wasn't going to be happy discussing whatever it was. Stalking over to the bed, I sat on the edge of it and crossed my arms over my chest. "Alright, let's talk about whatever it is."

"First I need to know you're going to be honest with me," he explained. "I need you to not pretend that I don't know how you react to me." Again, he was just suddenly in front of me. "Let's just get that out of the way. I know it all, Elena. I know how your breath hitches whenever I touch you. I know how your heart speeds up the minute I step into the room. I know how it stops for just a beat when I look at you in a certain way. I know exactly," he raked his eyes down my entire body for effect. "how your body reacts to me. So let's not pretend that it isn't there. Part of you wants me as badly as I want you and I also know that that part of you is getting harder to ignore by the day."

Oh God! This was going to be that talk. I didn't want to have this talk with him. I wanted no part of this talk. This discussion was dangerous. It was off limits to the shaky friendship we had been enjoying. It wasn't just any elephant in the room, it was THE elephant in the room.

I tried to brush past him. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning and we can figure out what we need to do to find STEFAN."

He grabbed me again, stopping my retreat. "Elena." His voice was low and dangerous and my insides betrayed me by twisting into a knot at the sound.

"Let me go, Damon," I demanded with what I hoped was the same dangerous tone.

"I just want to talk. Can't you give me that at least?"

"Not when we're talking about things we have no business discussing," I answered.

He did let my wrist go, but he didn't move away. He was still hovering right in front of me, so close that he was all I could see. His eyes bored into me, looking past all my outer layers, searching for proof that he was right, that I did feel something for him. I blinked and looked away.

"The only reason we shouldn't be discussing this is if I'm right," he reasoned. Damn him for being so perceptive. Why couldn't he be the beautiful, yet stupid older brother?

"There is no point in talking about something that can't happen. It can never happen. I belong with Stefan. I love Stefan," I continued to protest.

"Blah, blah, blah," he muttered. "I've heard that song so many times it's getting old." He was playing it off like a snarky comment but there was more to it than that. I could see it in his face. Once again the woman he loved was choosing his brother over him. It hurt. It was written in his eyes.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, willing to say whatever I needed to say to make this conversation stop. I didn't want to keep hurting him.

"I want the truth. That's all. I just want to know that this isn't entirely one-sided," he answered bluntly.

My options were either lying and hurting him again, or telling him the truth and hurting Stefan. For once, just for this once, I decided it was about time someone chose him.

"It isn't completely one-sided," I admitted honestly.

Something sparked in his eyes suddenly. "Really?"

"What do you want me to say that I want you, that I love you?" I asked, pushing him away and getting off the bed in hurry.

"Do you?" he asked, turning to track my every movement.

"I don't know," I said after a moment spent trying to catch my breath. "But it really doesn't matter. I won't hurt Stefan like that. I can't be that person."

"But it does matter. It matters a great deal to me. You don't know or don't want to admit it?" he pushed.

I rolled my eyes and put my hand on my hips in exasperation. "I don't know what I feel for you. I don't let myself think about it. I can't."

"So you pretend nothing's there even though it's obvious something is?"

"Can you think of a better option? One where no one gets hurt?" I asked.

He gave me that bitter smile again. "You know, just once, I'd like it not to be me that gets hurt in these little scenarios. I know it sounds selfish, but what can I say? I'm a selfish guy."

"Damon, please don't do this," I said.

"What if you had met me first?" he asked suddenly. "Would things have been different if Stefan hadn't laid his claim to you before I got here?"

I bristled at that. Stefan had never laid his claim on me. It wasn't like that. "If I recall correctly, you were pretty much claimed yourself when you first came to town."

He did that wild thing he did so often with his eyes and again my stomach flopped. It really was getting harder and harder to ignore the effect he had on me. "And look how that turned out. Another point in Stefan's favor while I looked like a complete idiot chasing after a trampy whore that never loved me."

His shoulders suddenly slumped and his face looked stricken. He was so vulnerable right then. I couldn't help myself. I went to him and put my arms around his shoulders. "You didn't look like an idiot. You looked like a man in love. I remember thinking I would love to have someone that loved me like that."

He pulled his head back from where it had fallen to my shoulder and his eyes were glistening. "I do love you like that."

My chest tightened. My next words felt bitter on my tongue but I had to say it. I had to remind him. "So does Stefan."

He swallowed hard enough that I heard it. "You know when we find him it isn't going to be pretty."

"That's exactly why we have to find him fast," I answered. I wanted to talk about Stefan. It was much safer territory.

"He's already been gone for so long. It doesn't take much time to help an addict fall off the wagon. He'll be in no shape to be around anyone for a long time," he explained.

"Is it really as bad as that?" I asked, not truly understanding what I was facing until then. I hadn't seen Stefan as an addict. But apparently Damon did and he's had one hundred plus years to know him better than I did.

"Yes, Elena. It's as bad as that. He can't help himself. He's going to fight us when we try to bring him home. Then he'll try to escape every chance he gets. He'll be more animal than human."

"Why aren't you like that?" I asked. It was something I'd always been curious about.

He shrugged. "I'm just not. Some of us can handle ourselves. I've never found much thrill in killing. I'm not saying it's not a good way to work off some frustration and I can't claim I've never lost control. But it's different with Stefan. He enjoys it. He takes great pleasure in ripping out a throat."

I stumbled as I took a step away from him. "That isn't true. He hates to kill."

"You've never seen him like this. You've never experienced one of his binders. I have. I've cleaned up his messes," he said in a faraway voice like he was remembering things he didn't want to recall. "It's horrible."

"Why are you telling me this?" I demanded, suddenly angry.

"Because you need to know what he really is, who he really is."

"Are you saying you've never done anything you consider to be horrible?" I countered.

"Of course not. We both know I'm a bad, bad man."

"So what are you hoping to accomplish by this? Do you think once I know how Stefan really is I'll coming running to your arms? Is that your plan?"

He looked away for a moment before finding my gaze again. "I'm telling you this because you should know it. I'm not trying to turn you against him. You might be the only thing that can save him at this point."

I shrugged trying to appear nonchalant. "Okay, so Stefan is as bad as you. I believe you. Are you happy now?"

"I'm trying to tell you what to expect when we find him. I'm not happy hurting you. But you need to know what you're up against. He isn't as bad as me. He's worse," he stated simply.

"That I don't believe," I answered.

"Elena, you have to believe me. He isn't the man you think he is. There is something much darker inside him than you can imagine."

"Do you know why Klaus kept him?" I asked.

He looked away again, letting me know that I was not going to like the answer I was about to get. His face was grim when his gaze came back to mine. "I think he took him because he needs a playmate and Stefan on a bender is a perfectly suitable playmate for Klaus."

Now I knew he was exaggerating. "I've seen Klaus in action. Stefan could never be like that."

He moved with vampire speed stopping right in front of me and taking my shoulders in his hands. "He likes to play with his food, Elena."

"And what do you call what you're doing with your little reporter?"

"I'm not hurting her. I'm not torturing her. That's what Stefan likes. He likes to make his victims suffer before he kills them," he explained. "It isn't the blood he's addicted to. Its the kill. The smell of fear, the feeling of power, all of it. If it was just the blood, it would be easy."

"And you think we've already lost him?" I asked the question that had been weighing on my mind for the last few days.

"I don't know," he shook his head sadly. "It's possible. I will tell you this. If it comes down to a choice, Stefan is no different than the witch. I'll choose you every time."

"You'd kill him if you thought he was going to hurt me? He's your brother."

He wet his lips and swallowed again. His hands tightened on my shoulders, long, nimble fingers digging into my flesh. "I will because nothing has changed. I can't lose you. The part of me that makes me not like him wouldn't survive it."

"He won't hurt me," I replied, firmly. I had to believe that. I had to hold on to the hope that we hadn't lost him completely. I just couldn't stand the thought of losing anyone else in my life. So many people were already gone. I couldn't think about adding another name to that list.

I knew that Damon felt the same. I knew he would never get over it if he had to stake Stefan to keep me safe. I also knew that he was completely sincere about his intentions. He would do it without hesitating if it meant saving me.

"He isn't himself right now. Wherever he is, the Stefan that you know, the one you love is buried so deeply I'm not sure he'll ever find his way back again. You need to understand that. There can't be any heroic gestures based on your belief that he won't hurt you, because he will. He will hurt you and I will have to kill him."

"That isn't going to happen," I tried to assure him.

He smiled. "I appreciate the optimism but you need to understand the reality that Stefan may be the next big bad on the long list of things I have to protect you from."

"It's not like he's going to come after me," I said.

"It's a lot like that. His love for you could very well turn into an obsession."

"We'll find him before it comes to that. Bonnie is going to try the locator spell tomorrow. We'll have him home before tomorrow night."

He laughed. "I hope it's that easy."

"It will be. It has to be."

He looked back at me with those intense eyes again. "And what happens then? After we find him and get him all back to normal? What happens then?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"How long do we go on pretending we don't care far too much for each other? How long do you intend to keep up the masquerade?"

"Forever," I whispered. "Until this goes away. It will eventually. It has to."

"And if it doesn't? What happens when it really does come down to a choice? Who will it be? Me or him?"

"Are you asking me to make that choice right now?" I wanted to know.

"No, right now, I know what your answer will be. I just want to believe that there might be some hope," he replied.

What was I supposed to say? Did I tell me him there was no hope and crush him? Or did I admit that there might be a chance for us somewhere down the road? I knew him well enough to know that if I told him there was a chance, even the smallest sliver of hope, he would stand on the shore waiting for that ship to come in forever. He didn't love halfway. He was a romantic. That part of him had never been touched or tainted by what he had become. I didn't think it ever would.

So how could I do that to him? How could I make him believe that there was hope?

I summoned up every ounce of courage inside me and wet my lips. "No, Damon, there is no chance. I love Stefan and I always will. You need to move on."

He leaned in close to me and took a deep breath like he was breathing in my smell. I almost flinched. He was closer than I wanted him to be right then.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe you. I'm afraid I need a little more proof."

"It's the truth. How can I prove it to you?"

His eyes grabbed mine, huge blue orbs full of so much emotion it was almost more than I could take. "Kiss me," he whispered.

If it hadn't been for the vervain I ingested daily, I would have thought he was trying to compel me. But he knew that wasn't possible. The vervain had been his idea. No, he was just pleading with me.

I had no hope of getting through this without him knowing exactly where he stood. I wasn't that good of an actress. This would be a game changer for us. I knew it. Nothing would ever be the same again. An inch was all that separated him from the truth of my feelings. And I had no way of getting out of it. If I protested, he'd know. If I kissed him, he'd know.

I prayed for a distraction, anything that would get me out of this.

None came and he slowly, ever so slowly closed the distance between us. He didn't have far to go but he seemed to be dragging the moment out or maybe he was giving me the option of stopping him. I didn't know and suddenly with him so close to me and his smell filling my senses, I didn't care to try to stop him.

It was a mistake. I knew it. He probably knew it too. I'd just lost both my biological father and my surrogate mother a few days before. The man I loved was missing in action. I was vulnerable and needy and I really couldn't afford to be either of those around Damon.

I knew there would be no turning back when I instinctively licked my lips in anticipation of the feel of his. It was over. The look on his face as he watched the movement said there was nothing in the universe that would stop him now.

I expected an onslaught. I expected something hot, torrid and hunger. What I got was worse.

It was hesitant, at first, as if he were tasting me to see if he liked me. His lips barely brushed over mine. I'd kissed him before. I knew how he tasted. But he had been too weak at the time to reciprocate. Now it was his turn. He drew my bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it gently for a moment. Again, it was such a soft, gentle move that I was shocked. Then his arms came around me, strong, muscular arms, that enveloped me in a cloak of safety. I almost sighed out loud in contentment. If I were a cat I would have been purring. His lips were still moving over mine, lingering, pressing, sucking and occasionally nipping gently.

Wow, he could kiss. I had no idea where he'd developed the skill but I was eternally grateful to his teacher.

My arms had moved all on their own, finding their way to his waist. He brought one of his hands up to cup the side of my face, using it to move my head the way he wanted it for a better angle. I didn't resist. I let him do whatever he wanted with me for the moment.

And it was turning out to be quite a moment. Time seemed to stop. Nothing moved or stirred around us. It was like we were suddenly the only two people in the world. Damon and I, all alone. The thought didn't scare me near as much as it should have and it certainly didn't bother me as much as it needed to. I wasn't this person. I wasn't Katherine. I couldn't bounce back and forth between the two brothers the way she had. I had made my choice and it wasn't the one that was making my body zing with so much pure pleasure just from a kiss. I had no idea how I would survive anything more from him.

Then suddenly he let me go. He just pulled out of my arms and strolled back over to the bed, where he sat nonchalantly on the edge and looked at me with a smug leer.

"I knew you were lying," he said around that leer.

I huffed in frustration and folded my arms over my chest defensively. Or at least that what I was playing it off as. In reality it was a move to hide my completely involuntary, totally inappropriate, hardened nipples from his view.

"I am not lying. What I do or do not feel for you has no baring on the situation. I'm not Katherine. I choose Stefan and that the way it's going to be," I replied, determinedly. Then suddenly I was angry. I had come to him for a little slice of comfort and this was what I got in return. I should have known better. Damon had a way of fucking up everything. If I didn't know better I would have thought he did it on purpose. Like he did everything in his power to screw up anything he might have going for him. "Why did you have to do this? Why couldn't you have just been my friend tonight? I really needed a friend."

His eyebrows rose at that. "Really? All you wanted was a friend? Tell me, when was the last time you crawled into Bonnie or Carolyn's bed in the middle of the night?"

"How can you be so nice one minute and such a jackass the next? This is like some kind of bipolar disorder with you."

He flinched at that. Then his shoulders slumped and he stood from the bed and walked towards me slowly. "I'm sorry, Elena. I shouldn't have pushed this. Come back to bed. I'll be on my best behavior. I swear."

I eyed him warily. I wanted to believe him, but past experience told me lying was second nature to him. "I think maybe I should I just go back to my own room. I'm sorry I came in here. I shouldn't have. It was obviously a mistake. I didn't mean for you to find me here anyway. I wanted to be gone before you noticed."

He laughed. "Really? You thought that was going to work?"

"I thought it would, yes. I was just going to lay there for a little while. Then go back to bed. I didn't mean for it to be an issue," I answered.

"How long is a little while? Because when I finally acknowledged your presence you'd been here for over an hour," he replied coolly.

I was shocked. "You knew I was there?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm a vampire. I knew when you left your room. I must admit I was a little shocked when you came in here though."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

He threw his hands up in what looked like frustration. "I was enjoying having you here. Is that so wrong? Has it occurred to any of you that I might not want to be alone either? I've lost something here, too. I've lost a lot of somethings," he admitted quietly.

I took a step towards him. There was just something about him when he was like this that I couldn't resist. I hated to see any sign of weakness from him. But of course he was right. He had lost a lot.

My hand came to rest on his shoulder and he jerked his eyes to mine in response.

"I'm sorry. I know you've been through a lot. I didn't mean to sound like I don't care. I do," I told him, softly.

"Then can we please just go back to bed and pretend like all this didn't happen?" he asked, still in that lost vulnerable voice that caused goosebumps all over my skin.

I nodded and took his hand. "Yes, let's go back to bed."

He led me back to the bed and as soon as I was settled his arms came around me and he pulled my body into his chest.

"Is this alright? I don't want to push my luck," he asked over my shoulder.

"It's fine. It's really nice actually," I admitted.

"Thank you," he whispered into the darkness. "Thank you for coming back."

"You're welcome," I answered just as quietly. Then I snuggled down deeper into him and knew that for the first time in what seemed liked months, I would sleep soundly and peacefully at least for this night.

A/N : If you liked this, and I really hope you did, please check out my webseries at gizzymoon dot blogspot dot com.


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